A series of small earthquakes has shaken the area in and around East County, but it doesn't appear to be anything to worry about, says Tom Rockwell, a seismologist at San Diego State University.

"The quakes have been occurring on a part of the Elsinore fault that tends to have a lot of seismicity," Rockwell said Saturday. "The quakes are small and not of much concern. But I always tell people that small quakes can be followed by something larger, so you should always be prepared."

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quakes have been breaking at a point roughly 20 miles south-southwest of Ocotillo Wells. The series began with a 3.0 quake at 7:19 a.m. on Friday. Things picked up on Saturday with a 3.9 quake at 7:09 a.m. It was followed one minute later by a 3.8 quake in the same general spot. Then there was a 3.3 quake at 9:33 a.m. The quakes have been felt all the way to the coast, and in such areas as Hemet and Fallbrook.

It's not unusual for faults in Southern California to produce clusters of faults that last for weeks. The Elsinore is a fairly quiet system. But seismologists say the fault is capable or producing quakes in the 6.5 to 7.5 range. The last major rupture on the Southern California section of the fault occurred on May 15, 1910, when the system generated a 6.0 quake. The fault has a southern extension in Mexico known as the Laguna Salada system. That fault was primarily responsible for the 7.2 quake that broke in northern Baja California in April 2010. That quake shook San Diego County hard.